POUNCE is the latest project by animal lover and photographer Seth Casteel. The book is a heartwarming photographic collection of cats, mostly pictured in absolutely adorable states of well, pouncing! A bestselling author, this is Casteel’s fourth photo book and (including his children’s books) his eighth published book in total.
His previous photo collections - Underwater Dogs, Underwater Puppies, and Underwater Babies - are not just adorable but have also been incredibly successful. After his work went viral online in 2012 demand has been huge, and with over half a million copies in print, Underwater Dogs is one of the best selling photography books of all-time. Now with POUNCE, Casteel is stepping out of the pool to put a new spin on cuddly things.
/Seth Casteel
He sees it as a return to his origins, explaining to us “My journey in photography actually began with cats, so I've always wanted to create a photography series [about cats] – it's just been a matter of the concept and the timing!”
In 2007, Casteel offered to lend a hand photographing a litter of cats to help them find homes with owners. “Within 24 hours, they all got adopted. ” he says, “This led to my volunteer work with shelters in the United States and around the world, and eventually to work as a pet photographer, which led to my first book, Underwater Dogs!”
/Seth Casteel
Casteel’s determination to help the plight of unwanted animals has not waned since. For POUNCE, he worked with several animal shelters and rescue groups across North America. All of the felines featured in Casteel’s book were either recent adoptions or still in dire need of owners.
“I love photographing animals! They are always candid, always fascinating!”
What makes Casteel’s style so appealing is its immediacy and close proximity. A self-taught photographer, he photographs these little bundles of fur on a Canon 5D Mark III with a variety of lenses, flashes and strobes. “My favorite setup for images in the book was definitely the Canon 8-15L fisheye lens with a few speedlites! I love being right there in the action,” he says.
/Seth Casteel
Some of his subjects demonstrated a predatory instinct more than once; his technique of getting right up to his subjects presenting a tempting target. “Far too many kittens pounced into my hair. I guess it must look like a cat toy. ” Luckily, these small critters, such as his favourite proverbial kitty of the litter, ‘Fuzzbucket’ were mostly harmless.
As this project is about awareness, Casteel did pause our wide eyed giddiness for a moment of seriousness to give us a set of advice for anyone interested in cats:
1. Adopt a cat from your local animal shelter or rescue group. And don’t stop at just one. Adopt two! Cats are social creatures.
2. Spay and neuter your cats to help reduce overpopulation in shelters.
3. Never declaw your cats. Your cats need claws in order to be both healthy and happy.
4. Play with your cats every single day. You are helping them get exercise, relieve boredom, build confidence and become even better friends with you!
/Seth Casteel
As the book launched on Tuesday 18 October 2016, Casteel is moving on already to his next project. He has a few new concepts for books but it’s television that’s currently got him by the collar. “I’ve been focusing on hosting a TV Show about dog adoption called Finding Fido! The show will premiere January 17 on Z Living. Definitely check it out!”
POUNCE is available now on Amazon. To find out more about Seth Casteel's work you can visit his website, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter
. digitalrev.com2016-10-21 03:00